Times of Calamity
Dave Wilkerson recently posted an entry on his blog, and on his ministry's website about an impending disaster coming on the New York area. You can read it here:
The "Reader's Digest" version is that much like the riots of Los Angeles (Watts), the area of New York (and surrounding areas) are going to go through amazing trouble. Rioting, fire, looting and so on will be common fare in that area in epic proportion. According to Reverend Wilkerson, this will be no ordinary trouble in that it is the working of God's judgement on America.
The news of that letter/blog entry became a news item this week, and many folks have read it, and it has added to their already existing fears about where our economy is headed. I'm not really going to address Reverend Wilkerson's prophecy, that much in this entry. Really, regardless of God's "giving" him that vision, the possibility of such a calamity is certainly a very real one. What we've been hearing and seeing out of Washington in the last few weeks has been very startling at the very least. And God indeed has every reason to judge us as a nation. The question is: should Christians be afraid?
That's not a cut an dry question. Christian soldiers wind up in combat operations. And when they do (regardless of how brave they are or how much faith they have in God) they get scared. In a like manner, when we face uncertain and troubling times there is a legitimate fear that comes into play. Christians really should "fear" God. And I do mean that in being a little afraid of Him. Paul tells the Phillippians to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. God is serious about His kingdom, and He will discipline His children when they are not living righteously. There is a healthy fear of God.
What I want to encourage you with though, is that God has always provided for His people. Especially when He brings judgement, He takes great care in showing His chosen people a way of through difficult times. When He flooded the earth in Genesis, He showed Noah how to build and ark and provided all of Noah's needs for the days aboard. When Elijah fled to the wilderness, God sent food via the birds. When Judah was to be taken captive by Babylon, Jeremiah told the people how God wanted them to move to Babylon and thrive during the captivity.
When Jesus foretold the coming judgement on Jerusalem, He told the Christians to "flee to the mountains." In believing the prophetic words of Jesus, many Christians did flee from the city when Rome invaded (exactly the opposite of what people would have normally done). In so doing, they avoided being caught in the siege that Rome laid on the city.
For the Christian, don't be afraid. Even when we're like Abram (a stranger in a strange land), God will be our shield, our rock. We may not know what that means. But we are promised that all things work together for the good of those who are called according to God's purposes. How do we know if we're called? As Paul said, we have to study to show ourselves approved workmen. We have to invest in understanding the scripture. As we do, we will understand why we ought to fear God; why we can trust Him as our protector and provider; and how to live according to that.
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